(א) וְיוֹסֵ֖ף הוּרַ֣ד מִצְרָ֑יְמָה וַיִּקְנֵ֡הוּ פּוֹטִיפַר֩ סְרִ֨יס פַּרְעֹ֜ה שַׂ֤ר הַטַּבָּחִים֙ אִ֣ישׁ מִצְרִ֔י מִיַּד֙ הַיִּשְׁמְעֵאלִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר הוֹרִדֻ֖הוּ שָֽׁמָּה׃
(1) When Joseph was taken down to Egypt, Potiphar, a courtier of Pharaoh and his prefect, an Egyptian man, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him there.
(ג) [ג] ד"א ויוסף הורד מצרימה. זש"ה בחבלי אדם אמשכם וגו' (הושע יא ד). זה יוסף, שנאמר ויהי אנשים אשר היו טמאים לנפש אדם (במדבר ט ו), ואילמלא ירדו ישראל בעלילתו של יוסף, ראוין הי' לירד למצרים שלולין בקולרין, כשם שירדו לבבל, למה שכך התנה עם אברהם, ידוע תדע כי גר יהי' זרעך ועבדום וענו אותם (בראשית טו יג), אלא מפני שחיבב אותן, והורידו בבור, והביא עלילה שימכר יוסף כדי שירדו מעצמן.
(3) [3] Another interpretation: "And Joseph went down to Egypt." (Genesis 39:1) It is said in scriptures: "He (God) has withdrawn you (Israel) from the land of the living." (Hosea 11:4) This refers to Joseph, as it is said, "There were certain men who were defiled by a human corpse." (Numbers 9:6) If not for the fact that Israel had to go down to Egypt due to Joseph's story, they would have been worthy of descending to Egypt in chains, just as they descended to Babylon, as it is said, "You should know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land not their own, and they will be enslaved and oppressed there." (Genesis 15:13) But because God loved them, He caused the Israelites to descend to Egypt in a pit and brought about the story of Joseph's sale so that they would descend of their own accord.
מַעֲשֶׂה בְּאַנְטוֹנִינוֹס שֶׁבָּא לְקִסְרִין וְשָׁלַח אַחַר רַבֵּנוּ הַקָּדוֹשׁ, וְהָלַךְ עִמּוֹ רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בְּנוֹ וְרַבִּי חִיָּא הַגָּדוֹל. רָאָה רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן שָׁם לִגְיוֹן אֶחָד נָאֶה וּמְשֻׁבָּח, רֹאשׁוֹ מַגִּיעַ לְקַפָּאלִירָס שֶׁל עַמּוּדִים. אָמַר לוֹ לְרַבִּי חִיָּא, רְאֵה כַּמָּה פְטוּמִין עֲגָלִין שֶׁל עֵשָׂו. נְטָלוֹ רַבִּי חִיָּא וְהוֹלִיכוֹ לַשּׁוּק וְהֶרְאָהוּ סַל שֶׁל עֲנָבִים וְשֶׁל תְּאֵנִים וְהַזְּבוּבִין עֲלֵיהֶם. אָמַר לוֹ רַבִּי חִיָּא, זְבוּבִין אֵלּוּ וְאוֹתוֹ לִגְיוֹן שָׁוִין. כְּשֶׁעָלָה רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אֵצֶל אָבִיו, אָמַר לוֹ כָּךְ אָמַרְתִּי לְרַבִּי חִיָּא וְכָךְ הֵשִׁיב לִי. אָמַר לוֹ: כָּל כָּךְ נָתַן רַבִּי חִיָּא הַבַּבְלִי מַמָּשׁ שֶׁהִשְׁוָה אוֹתָן לִזְבוּבִין, לְפִי שֶׁלִּגְיוֹנִים אֵלּוּ אֵינָן סְפוּנִין לִכְלוּם. אֲבָל זְבוּבִין, הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא עוֹשֶׂה שְׁלִיחוּתוֹ בָהֶן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וְהָיָה בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִשְׁרֹק יי לַזְּבוּב אֲשֶׁר בִּקְצֵה יְאֹרֵי וְגוֹ' (ישעיה ז, יח). וְכֵן, וְשָׁלַחְתִּי אֶת הַצִּרְעָה (שמות כג, כח), וּבְכִנִּים וּצְפַרְדְּעִים. תֵּדַע, שֶׁבְּשָׁעָה שֶׁבִּקֵּשׁ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְקַיֵּם גְּזֵרַת יָדֹעַ תֵּדַע, בַּקָּטֹן שֶׁבַּשְּׁבָטִים עוֹשֶׂה שְׁלִיחוּתוֹ, וְנִמְכַּר יוֹסֵף בְּמִצְרַיִם, וְיָרְדוּ יַעֲקֹב וּבָנָיו וּפָרְעוּ אֶת הַשְּׁטָר. לְכָךְ כְּתִיב: וְיוֹסֵף הוּרַד מִצְרָיְמָה.
It is related that when Antoninus came to Caesarea he summoned our saintly Rabbi. His son, R. Simeon, and the illustrious R. Hiyya accompanied him. R. Simeon noticed the handsome, distinguished-looking legionary, whose head reached the capitals of the columns, and he said to R. Hiyya: “See how fat the calves of Esau are.” Whereupon R. Hiyya took him to the marketplace and pointed out baskets of grapes and figs covered with flies, and said to him: “These flies and these legionaries are one and the same.” When R. Simeon returned to his father he told him: “This is what I said to R. Hiyya, and this is how he answered me.” “R. Hiyya,” he replied, “was only substantially correct in comparing the legionaries to the flies, for the legionaries are considered as nothing (before God), while the Holy One, blessed be He, used flies as His emissaries,” as it is said: And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall hiss for the fly that is in the uppermost parts of the river of Egypt (Isa. 7:18), and also: And I will send the hornet before you (Exod. 23;28). Proof of this is that at the time when the Holy One, blessed be He, desired to fulfill the decree: Know well that your offspring will be strangers in a land not theirs (Gen. 15:13), He selected as his emissary one from the smallest tribe. And so Joseph was sold into Egypt, and later Jacob and his sons went there to fulfill the decree. Therefore it is written: And Joseph was brought down into Egypt (Gen. 39:1).
וַיְהִי בָּעֵת הַהִוא, וְלֹא הָיָה צָרִיךְ קְרָיָה לְמֵימַר אֶלָּא (בראשית לט, א): וְיוֹסֵף הוּרַד מִצְרָיְמָה, וּמִפְּנֵי מָה הִסְמִיךְ פָּרָשָׁה זוֹ לָזוֹ, רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר וְרַבִּי יוֹחָנָן, רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר אָמַר כְּדֵי לִסְמֹךְ יְרִידָה לִירִידָה. רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן אָמַר כְּדֵי לִסְמֹךְ הַכֶּר לְהַכֶּר. רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָן אָמַר כְּדֵי לִסְמֹךְ מַעֲשֵׂה תָּמָר לְמַעֲשֵׂה אִשְׁתּוֹ שֶׁל פּוֹטִיפַר, מַה זּוֹ לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם אַף זוֹ לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם, דְּאָמַר רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן לֵוִי רוֹאָה הָיְתָה בְּאַסְטְרוֹלוֹגִין שֶׁלָּהּ שֶׁהִיא עֲתִידָה לְהַעֲמִיד מִמֶּנּוּ בֵּן, וְלֹא הָיְתָה יוֹדַעַת אִם מִמֶּנָּהּ אִם מִבִּתָּהּ, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (ישעיה מז, יג): מוֹדִיעִים לֶחֳדָשִׁים מֵאֲשֶׁר יָבֹאוּ עָלָיִךְ. רַבִּי אַיְּבוּ אָמַר מֵאֲשֶׁר וְלֹא כָּל אֲשֶׁר, וְדִכְוָתָהּ (בראשית ב, כה): וְלֹא יִתְבּשָׁשׁוּ:
“It was at that time” – the verse should have said only: “Joseph was taken down to Egypt” (Genesis 39:1). Why, then, did it juxtapose this portion to that one? Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Yoḥanan: Rabbi Elazar said: In order to juxtapose descent to descent. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: In order to juxtapose “identify” (Genesis 37:32) to “identify” (Genesis 38:25). Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: In order to juxtapose the incident of Tamar to the incident of Potifar’s wife. Just as this one, [Tamar, acted] for the sake of Heaven, so too, that one, [Potifar’s wife, acted] for the sake of Heaven, as Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: She saw through her astrology that she was destined to bring forth a child from him, but she did not know whether it would be from her or from her daughter. That is what is written: “[The astrologers, the stargazers,] who foretell by the new moons of that which will befall you” (Isaiah 47:13). Rabbi Aivu said: [They foretell] “of that which [will befall you]” but not all that [will befall you].
״וְיוֹסֵף הוּרַד מִצְרָיְמָה״. אָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר: אַל תִּיקְרֵי ״הוּרַד״ אֶלָּא ״הוֹרִיד״, שֶׁהוֹרִיד אִיצְטַגְנִינֵי פַּרְעֹה מִגְּדוּלָּתָן.
“And Joseph was brought down [hurad] to Egypt” (Genesis 39:1). Rabbi Elazar says: Do not read the word as “hurad,” but rather read it as horid, meaning: He, Joseph, brought down others, as Joseph brought down the astrologers [itztagninei] of Pharaoh from their position of eminence.